


Remember the Past

by Faiz



Category: The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Gen, Past God Incarnations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-03
Updated: 2013-09-09
Packaged: 2017-12-13 21:30:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/829088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faiz/pseuds/Faiz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ty has been having strange dreams about a man with powers similar to his own. Turns out Olaf knew who Ty was dreaming about, because the man used to be Hod.</p><p>EDIT: Now being continued with the other Johnson Brothers! Starting up with Anders!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Keir

Ty had been having strange dreams for a few weeks now, and they were constantly of the same thing. The same man, actually. Ty wasn't exactly sure how he knew it was always the same man, but he did. It was always cold and snowy when he had those dreams, and he was surrounded by four huskies. Nothing remarkable every happened in those dreams, it was literally as though he were simply living someone else's life whenever he slipped into a dream. Incredibly boring things like watching television while petting one of the huskies or going out into the snow. The dreams with the snow were always the most exciting, like the guy he was dreaming about absolutely loved the cold and got such an adrenaline rush whenever was able to go out.

Ty definitely didn't agree with those feelings. He hated anything cold. He hated how everything just felt numb, and how he couldn't ever eat anything properly because of the stupid god powers. This guy in his head didn't know the half of it. But perhaps he was lucky because he didn't realize how much it sucked being cold all the time. But Ty didn't dwell too often on the man in his head, because they were just stupid little dreams he had. Although, that's what he told himself. In reality he wondered what prompted this man suddenly being created in his mind. Maybe he had finally snapped and gone insane from constantly being so cold all the time. He really didn't get an answer to that question until another one of those dreams.

It had started off normally enough. The man looked like he was going to reach for his coat, obvious that he was going to go outside again. But that's when it changed. Instead of grabbing a coat he just walked out into the cold. No shoes, no jacket, just the man in shorts and a T-shirt going out into the cold. But it didn't feel bad, or numb. It felt great! Like it was the best thing in the world to be running barefoot through the snow like it was nothing. He could feel the laughter bubbling out of his--no, the man's throat as he ran through trees with large snowflakes landing on his face. He stopped suddenly, panting from all the running he had been doing. He flopped down into a snowdrift as if it were a comfortable pillow, and not something as cold as snow. 

This was the first time the man ever uttered anything. "Hod. Being Hod is good..."

And Ty's eyes snapped open. The guy had mentioned Hod. He wasn't exactly sure that made him panic like that, because Ty was Hod. It was something his mind made up, right? His mind made up a man who also happened to be Hod, but considerably more happy than Ty was. Yet at the same time it didn't feel like it was something Ty made up at all. Most of his dreams in fact felt more like memories than anything else. Little mundane things that someone would remember. The dogs, the house, running through the snow in nothing but shorts and a t-shirt. They felt like memories, but not Ty's. He was going to ask Olaf about it, because as unreliable as Olaf could be, he had been alive longer than all of them. He'd been a god much longer, so he must know something about weird dreams.

"So...You're saying that you're having weird dreams about some guy who is Hod, but not you..." Olaf said, narrowing his eyes slightly in concentration. "Do you remember anything specific?"

Ty thought for a moment. "Well...They weren't exactly exciting dreams. Just things like walking through the snow, making something to eat, and he has four huskies. Nothing out of the ordinary. Although he seemed much too excited to be Hod." Ty answered, remembering his most recent dreams.

"Wait...Did you say huskies?"

Ty nodded. "Yeah, four. They tended to be there during most of the dreams. Why?"

"Keir...Of course. It's been awhile since he's been around." Olaf said more to himself.

"Keir? Is that who the man in my head is?" Ty pressed on, hoping for answers.

"I'd assume so. Keir was Hod when I first became a God. A very nice man, although he was fond of dark humor. He fits the description well enough. He had four huskies, and did really love being Hod. There are many times I remember finding him asleep in a snowdrift. But of course he's dead now." Olaf took a gulp of his drink.

"So these dreams I'm having...They're Keir's memories? Is that...Is that normal?" Ty asked.

"Pretty much. Your brothers have probably had dreams about past incarnations of themselves as well, although they probably pass it off as weird dreams just like you did. Keir was a nice guy though. Very into being Hod. You should take a leaf out of his book, grandson. Stop being so dark and gloomy all the time."

"Yeah. Easier said than done." Ty rolled his eyes. "I never really thought about past incarnations of other gods. I mean, I doubt other Bragi's were as bad as Anders is now."

Olaf laughed. "No, Anders is one of a kind. I doubt anyone could really match up to the amount of womanizing he does today. Maybe you could ask him."

Ty laughed as well, but didn't say anything. When it was night time again, he wondered if he was going to dream one of Keir's memories. Now that he knew who the man was, he was more curious than ever about all these little mundane things that Keir used to do. And he had to admit, maybe there was a bit of an adrenaline rush whenever he was in the cold himself. But maybe that was just Keir's memories in Hod making an appearance, so even though Keir's gone, he's still enjoying the cold.


	2. Erick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anders hated hospitals. Why the hell does he keep dreaming about them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I decided to continue this story because I actually thought of some pretty good ideas for the other brothers and their past incarnations. I'm starting off with Anders because he was the first one I thought of another incarnation for after Ty.

Anders hated hospitals with a burning passion. After constantly going to them when he was young, he really didn't like going anymore. It was all too white, too clean. They ask you way too many questions about things he'd rather not answer. So he used his power to constantly avoid going to the hospital, although it was unavoidable when he gets sick. He doesn't get sick very often, not as much as he did as a kid. But whenever he did get sick, he got sick badly. So he was still forced to go to the hospital sometimes for recovery. He swore he was probably gonna die one of these days, but at least he wouldn't be coughing up a lung.

But even if he avoided hospitals in real life, he couldn't seem to get away from them in his dreams. For weeks in a row he'd end up getting these boring as hell dreams where he'd just be in a hospital. The dreams were weird as hell too, nothing interesting would happen. Not even the usual dream bullshit that would really confuse someone. It was like it was a memory stuck on repeat in his mind about this guy who works at a goddamn hospital. There were moments where things got pretty intense, and someone was dying and they had to save them, but it was mostly just comforting sick people. At least in the dream he seemed to be really good at it, because the patient would calm down pretty quickly after he was done speaking with them.

Well, Anders assumed it was himself. The voice that always came out sounded nothing like him. It was a bit higher, and less..douchebaggy. But it even calmed Anders down some whenever this dream guy spoke to a patient. The more Anders thought about it, the more he realized that this mystery dream man might not be him. They felt more like memories, and Anders would never want to work in a hospital. He remembered Ty talking about something similar happening to him, only apparently Ty got some answers from Olaf and never really mentioned it again. But he seemed more happy with his own powers after that. Still moody as hell, but sometimes when Ty didn't think anyone was looking, he'd get this weird smile on his face. Especially when he saw the snow.

That's why Anders decide it'd be a good idea to show up at Ty's house in the middle of the night after having yet another uneventful hospital dream. Ty didn't seem to happen to have been woken up by Anders' knocking on the door, but he begrudgingly let his older brother in anyways. Anders immediately plopped himself onto Ty's couch and grinned up at him.

"How are you doing little brother?"

"Fine, until you showed up and decided that your problems were more important than my sleep. Was it really important enough to wake me up?" Ty frowned as he sat down next to Anders.

Anders looked thoughtful for a moment. "Actually no. But I am here anyways so you have to answer my questions." He continued on ignoring Ty's glare. "So I've been having dreams, in which I've been in a hospital."

Ty rolled his eyes. "Fascinating tale Anders."

Anders held his hand up. "Let me finish. They've been really weird. Because they're not like any dreams I've had before. Almost like...Memories." That made Ty's eyes widen. "They're pretty normal shit. Some guy working, talking to patients and making them calm down. At first I thought it was some shit my brain made up to make me feel guilty, but now I'm not too sure. The guy doesn't sound like me when he speaks...Although there's something about it...Like a connection." He furrowed his brow in thought.

"Like you're connected with him?" Ty pressed on.

Anders nodded. "Yeah. Kinda. Almost like he's..." It dawned on him. "Like he's Bragi! The way he comforted those people so easily. He was using his Bragi powers! But...How? I'm Bragi."

Ty nodded. "You are. But that was a past Bragi. It had to have been! I've been having the same dreams before. They felt like memories, only it was about Keir. He was Hod. Only difference between us was that he actually liked his powers. He liked the cold. We could ask Olaf about it, to see if he knows your Bragi like he knew my Hod. I think I've actually had dreams of other Hods too, before Keir. It's all really weird, but really interesting at the same time!"

Anders nodded in agreement, and the next day they confronted their grandfather at the bar and explained Anders dreams to him.

"Ah, so another brother has wised up to his past god memories? Faster than I thought it would, and I was half expecting Mike to notice first." 

Anders rolled his eyes. "Anything that forces me to be in hospitals more than I want I know isn't completely natural. Now do you know this guy?" 

"Yes actually. I met him a few times during a few trips to the hospital. His name is Erick, and he worked as a nurse. Which is actually quite a good thing isn't it? He could calm patients down like no one else could. Everyone absolutely adored him, and he loved doing his work and helping people using his Bragi powers."

Ty couldn't help but smirk. "Now who doesn't that sound like? I would have much preferred knowing Erick rather than you Anders. He used his powers to help people, rather than sleep with them."

"Shut up Ty." Anders shot back at him. 

But then he thought for a moment about the dreams, and the way the people seemed so calm after this Erick guy was done speaking with them. He could feel the emotions flowing through him as if it was him doing all the helping. The feeling of pride when a patient smiled up at him. It probably would be nice to use his powers to help people...But not in hospitals. Because he still hated them with a passion...Although maybe not quite as much as before. But he wondered...

"So does this mean Mike and Axl have had dreams too? And the goddesses? And you?" Anders asked.

"Most likely. I myself have had many dreams that I'm not really sure if they're my memories or someone else's. Such is the curse of being Baldr. We could just ask the other two though if you'd like." Olaf shrugged.

Anders nodded. "Yeah..." He looked at Ty. "Do you want to take a trip to the cemetery?"

"The cemetery? Why?"

"To see if we can find Keir and Erick. I mean I know they were probably burned like Eva and mum, but they probably have a gravesite anyways right? I'm curious..."

"That...That actually sounds interesting. I have been wanting to know more about Keir, but from what I've been able to tell he was pretty isolated from people most of the time."

"So what are we waiting for Ty? Let's go find us some former gods!"


	3. Ivan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike gets dragged off and questioned by his brothers about dreams.

When he walked down into the bar, he quickly took note of the fact that Anders, Ty, and Olaf were already sitting there seemingly waiting for him to wake up and go downstairs. He didn't even question how they managed to get in, because the door never seemed to be locked even when he clearly remembered locking it himself. Ty and Anders didn't look up at him, because they had their focus on some photo albums sitting in front of them. They both muttered and pointed to pictures with interest, and even let out a few laughs at particular ones that probably had some amusing scenes in them. Mike just walked past the duo and directed his attention to Olaf, who grinned at him while taking a sip of his drink.

"See? I could make a good babysitter. They haven't even punched each other." He seemed very proud of this.

"Can I ask what they're doing exactly? They just seem to be pouring over photo albums. And not familiar ones too, I know the ones we have." Mike said, staring at his two younger brothers.

At that moment, Ty looked up from the books and actually noticed Mike was there with them. He quickly tapped Anders on the shoulder. "He's awake."

Anders beamed at him. "Oh! Hey Mike! Quick question, have you had any weird dreams about someone who isn't you?" Straight to the point.

Mike stared blankly at Anders. "Uhh...Why exactly do you want to know?"

"Because we're trying to figure out more about past god incarnations. Olaf already helped us figure out our own." Ty nodded to the photo albums. "After some asking around we've managed to get photo albums of our previous incarnations. Apparently according to Olaf the memories can span all the way back from when the gods were still powerful, but the memories that are more likely to show up are the ones from before us."

Ty beckoned to Mike to come closer and then showed him a picture of a young man with white-blond hair surrounded by dogs. "This is Keir. He was Hodr before me. He really seemed to like the snow, definitely more than I do now. But he seems to live alone too, which makes me wonder about him because the family that he has that's still alive say that they don't really know much about him. Not like Anders' past incarnation."

Anders showed him a picture of a shorter man with mousy brown hair and glasses. "He was a nurse. He was really good with people apparently. Half of this photo album is full of thank you cards that he got from people that he helped treat." Anders said as he flipped through the album. "So really Mike. Have you had any strange dreams about your guy?"

"Well, yes. And I guess it's his fault that I tended to avoid using my own powers." Mike said after a moment of thinking. "They weren't exactly glamorous. Nothing but gambling and drinking and then falling over in an alleyway. That's usually when I'd wake up. I really didn't want to become that kind of man, so I toned down on my powers." Mike shrugged. "And I'd assume that Olaf would recognize who he was, since he seems to know everyone else's." His gaze turned to his grandfather.

He nodded. "Ah yes, Ivan. He was quite the heavy drinker. Gambler too. Saw in the newspapers that he went to jail a fair few times because they thought he would cheat. They'd never actually find something to prove it, but they'd just chuck him in anyways for some other charge. He was a right fuck-up, to put it bluntly. Mike is much, much better with his powers than that guy was. Or at least he is now." Olaf winked at Mike.

Mike frowned, because he was always trying to forget that time from when he had just gotten his godpowers and had abused them so much that he had barely even remembered that he had brothers that he needed to take care of. At least he wasn't Ivan. Mike preferred not being in jail, and being more in control of his well-being. He sighed and looked around at his family. "So we've found out about my past god incarnation. Who exactly does that leave?"

"Axl. And Olaf too, if he's willing to share those details with us." Ty said.

"I suppose I'd have to. But we'll save mine for last, to make it more interesting. But you already know a bit about a past Odin don't you?"

Mike nodded. "From what you told us when Axl became Odin. Mainly just about how he ignored the quest for Frigg in favor of living his own life, and ended up getting some of his family killed."

Olaf nodded. "Yep, that's the one." He grinned. "So let's go get Axl, so we can finish these lovely stories up."


	4. Magnus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> by the way, this is set before they find out Gaia is a Goddess.

Axl took a swig of his beer and stared at the rest of his family with curious eyes. They had just barged into his home and unceremoniously kicked Zeb out to spill quite a lot of information about gods. Specifically, past gods. Olaf had already mentioned before that the past Odin was killed being run over by a tractor because he chose not to take on the quest for Frigg, but apparently some of the strange dreams Axl had were actually memories of this guy. 

"...So what was his name again?" Axl asked, staring at Olaf.

"Magnus. Quite a nice man if you dug way deep inside, but he wasn't really the best Odin."

"What do you mean Grandpa?" Axl raised an eyebrow. "I mean yeah he didn't take on the quest for Frigg, and got his family all killed because of it and..." He trailed off.

"Well, besides that Axl. The problem was that when he learned that he was Odin, he kinda became mad with power. He was a right dick to pretty much everyone besides the woman he was in love with. Hell, even the Thor of that time didn't like him." Olaf shook his head. "No one could convince him to take on the quest. Not even his brother. We tried and tried, but it was always blown up in our face. They weren't used to it you know, those Gods in Norsewood were a close-knit bunch, and having someone refuse to be apart of it was different."

Anders seemed to be thinking hard at what Olaf was explaining before he piped up. "Wait...But if Magnus died in 1931, how do you know all this shit? You would have been eleven at the time!" 

Olaf laughed. "Yes, I was a bit young to be hanging out with Gods, but I think somewhere in my mind I knew something was up, and when I stumbled upon the gods during one of their parties, I just sorta slipped in and pretended I was meant to be there. It worked for awhile too, but then they found me out. But they let me stay, so I was able to learn quite a bit about the Gods before I actually became one. I only saw Magnus a few times, and most of the times he was yelling pretty angrily at everyone. Nearly killed our Loki too. He was the head of the Frigg-hunt at the time. Nice chap. He was more of a tomfoolery man, instead of an asshole like our current Loki."

The rest of the brothers laughed, but Axl seemed more somber on the matter. He had so much on his shoulders on being Odin, and he could just as easily said 'fuck it' and done whatever he had wanted because he was Odin and he could do what he wanted. Sure, he had done some fairly stupid things in the past, but he really didn't want to get run over by a tractor and kill the rest of his family like Magnus. But at the same time Olaf had said that he had done it because he was in love with his wife. Axl's mind went to Gaia at that moment, and wondered what would happen if he were to do the same thing.

He shook his head. That was a horrible thought. He had to go through with the Frigg-hunt and do what the past Odin refused to do. He'd get their powers back and they'd all finally go back to Asgard. But he couldn't help but wonder what his life would have been like if that other Odin had completed the task. His entire life would have gotten completely changed. Olaf wouldn't be there, or if he was, he would be very old. Maybe he would have actually had a normal childhood. He took another swig of beer, and pushed the thoughts out of his mind and rejoined the conversation.

"Olaf, that's all of us. That means you're morally obligated to tell us about your past incarnation." Anders pointed out, and Ty nodded in agreement.

"If you knew about Gods before you were one, does that mean you knew who Baldr was?

Olaf looked sad for a moment. "Yes...I knew the man. He was very kind, very intelligent."

"So nothing like you?" Mike asked, grinning.

"Well yes, but he was actually the first reincarnation of Baldr after the original one died."

The brothers all stared at him, and Anders was the first one to find his voice.

"Wait...What?"


	5. Emil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, a bit of a short chapter. But hey! One more to go!

All four brothers were staring at Olaf in intense confusion. Olaf simply sat quietly, letting the information sink in.

“Wait...So that makes you the...Second incarnation? Not counting the original Baldr.” Ty said after a moment. “But how is that possible?”

Anders rolled his eyes. “He has the power of rebirth. That means that Baldrs last for quite a long time.”

Olaf nodded. “That is very true, grandson. The Baldr that I knew when I was young was already nearing the end of his time, you could tell. He actually looked like an old man. All the Gods and Goddesses called him Grandpa Emil affectionately, despite none of them being related to him.”

Olaf gave a sad smile, as he remembered those times when he was a child, and so knew and interested in the world of Gods. He had stumbled upon it on complete accident, but later on he thought that his child self may have been more aware about his surroundings than previously thought. But he had known Emil so well, and even went to him for advice. 

Until one day, the old gentleman revealed something that Olaf wasn't sure he had wanted to know just yet. Emil had told him that Olaf himself was going to be the next incarnation of Baldr. Young Olaf had been so excited about the idea of actually knowing which God he was going to be before he was even close to being old enough to be a God! But quickly, after a few seconds of thinking Olaf had cried out suddenly, because he knew Emil was Baldr.

The old man had only smiled at him sadly, and said that his time was coming to an end. But he was going to teach Olaf all he needed to know about being Baldr, and about being an oracle. He and Linnea (who was Vor) were going to be teaching him. They were expecting him to grow up and become some great oracle who was going to live for the longest time, teaching new Gods and Goddesses about themselves and how to survive in their world.

But that had been stopped horribly early, when Magnus had died. Olaf never really figured out how it happened. Magnus' brother Erick, who was Bragi, should have been the only one who had died. Yet nearly every single God and Goddess that Olaf had befriended had ended up dying in that earthquake. Maybe it was because then, they were so close that they were family in everything but blood. But that means Olaf was left alone, without his two mentors to guide him on how to teach Gods and Goddesses. He barely knew anything.

There had been many screw ups along the way, but Olaf feels like he's done the best he could to at least teach his grandsons about everything he knew, even if that wasn't enough sometimes. 

“So...They died before they could even teach you properly?” Axl asked, after Olaf told them the story about Emil.

“Yes...That's why my teachings were probably less than adequate for you guys. I wasn't exactly given much teaching myself. It became Lord of the Flies there for a few years when all the young Gods and Goddesses suddenly gained these magical powers that no one really knew how to explain.” Olaf shrugged.

The brothers sat in silence, mulling over what Olaf had explained, and thinking back to their own past incarnations. It was still such a strange thought knowing that they had the memories of other people buried deep in their own minds. Yet parts of them just yearned to learn more. 

But there was really nothing left to say about the matter, so the four brothers and their grandfather parted ways, returning back to their own homes, their own lives. But the thoughts of their past lives never really left their minds. It stayed in the back of their minds constantly. And even at some point you could see a brother look quickly behind their shoulder or to a certain point in the distance. And then they'd swear that they saw one of their past selves, walking along as if they were still alive. Like their memories had ended up projecting into their lives. And they could only vaguely wonder if one day they'd be projections in another's memory as well.


End file.
